He Will Be Loved: A Renier Laroche Love Story
by Laroche's Bitch
Summary: "I don't mind spending every day out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the boy with the broken smile, ask him if he wants to stay a while..and he will be loved, he will be loved..."
1. Chapter 1

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He Will Be Loved

A Renier Laroche Love Story

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"_No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind." – Taylor Swift_

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"Dr. Morgan, where are you? We need you to tend to the patient on Cot 29!" A frantic voice called out to me.

I sighed, grabbing a pair of purple latex gloves, and my matching stethoscope, hurrying over to see what the problem was. My assistant, Clifford, was waiting for me with panicked eyes.

"He's not breathing!"

I pursed my lips, doing a quick scan of the patient from head to toe. He was soaking wet, no doubt just saved from drowning. "Have you tried CPR?"

"And Heimlech. Nothing seems to be working." If possible, Clifford sounded even more worried now. If the situation got worse, he would no doubt be hysterical…_again. _

"How long has he been like this?"

"About a minute and a half."

I nodded, becoming all business like. I knew how to deal with patients like him. Really, it was just a normal procedure. It was a shame really. It just showed how much better we needed to teach individuals to swim around here. "Get me the paddles."

"The _paddles_?" Clifford's voice was incredulous. I winced, hating the amount of time that he was wasting. In an emergency situation like this, we couldn't afford to lose time when it was running so precariously out of our hands. "You're going to _shock him_? He's not dead!"

"No," I agreed. "But it should startle him enough for him to start coughing, and then we can get the water out. The paddles are our last chance."

Clifford hesitated. "Dr. Morgan are you sure that this is a good—"

I cut him off before he could finish. "Clifford, just get me the goddamn paddles! I've done this a thousand times before!" To say that I was exasperated by his lack of faith was an understatement. We were in the ER for crying out loud. We _had _to be creative in our terms of saving people, otherwise many would have died already in our hands.

A few seconds later, Clifford had come back carrying a pair of shock paddles. I instructed him to turn it to the correct voltage before turning to the patient and placing the paddles on him—one placed vertically under his right collarbone, the other one level with his lower ribs.

"3…2…1…CLEAR!"

The patient jerked on the cot, but nothing happened. I furrowed my eyebrows, worrying that he could have passed beyond the state of revival…but I decided to try again. If there was one thing I learned in my job, it was to never quit unless the situation was entirely hopeless. I placed the paddles on the victim's chest again.

"3…2…1…CLEAR!"

Another spasm, this time accompanied by a series of hacking coughs. I held my breath as the patient bolted upright, hacking up sea water like it was the end of the world. Clifford placed a bin under him, and he retched into the can. I wrinkled my nose, turning my head away. _Gross. _Yeah, I had definitely seen worse, but still…It was not like I enjoyed the sight of someone spilling their guts out into a trash can. It might've been normal, but it was still disgusting.

After the patient was done, I placed a hand on his shoulder, offering him a smile. "You okay sir?"

His eyes flashed over to me, tired and bloodshot. It didn't matter too much though. He was bound to get rest after his recent episode. "Yeah," he croaked out. I could barely hear his voice from the damage the sea water had done to it. I motioned for Clifford to hand me a couple of anti-biotic pills and a glass of plain water. I wasn't sure if he had swallowed any toxins, but it was best not to take any chances.

"What happened?" His brow furrowed. I immediately back tracked, placing my palms up. "If you don't mind me asking."

His frowned. "Nah, it's alright. My boat just overturned…"

I nodded solemnly. "Ah, I see. Yeah, I'm not really much of a swimmer either. I haven't been in the water since I was three—not even to the pool. I'm deathly afraid of drowning."

Clifford came back again, handing the pills and the water to the patient—who grimaced, but still swallowed it. I gave him another smile. "Alright, I want you to take the rest of the day to rest, do you hear me? In fact, just sleep it off. You must be tired after that whole ordeal. But right now, everything seems to be in order. The antibiotic should help, it'll make you drowsy in about 15 minutes. If you have any weird symptoms such as vomiting, or diarrhea, please don't hesitate to come here again, as you may have a serious, but not-so-rare condition." _Great, I sound like a medicine commercial. _

He nodded. "Thanks Doc. I appreciate your help. I don't know what would've happened to my family if I had…passed." His voice started getting emotional towards the end.

I felt a pang of sympathy in my chest as I leaned forward and squeezed his shoulder, giving him a gentle smile. "Hey, no problem. It's my job to save people. I'm glad I had the opportunity to give you another chance." That seemed to make him feel slightly better.

After saying a quick goodbye to the patient, I peeled off my gloves and headed to my small little corner at the side of the infirmary. It wasn't really an office, more of a…well, I really wasn't quite sure what it was, to be honest. Maybe just a place to keep my belongs or something, I suppose.

I took off my stethoscope, placing my hands on my lower back and stretching backwards as I let a yawn slip past my mouth. Today was already way too long, and way too exhausting for me. I couldn't wait till my shift was over.

"Nessaaaa, you're late!" a voice whined from behind me. I jumped out of my skin, quickly grabbing my stethoscope to use it as a weapon if needed. Yeah, healers didn't really get weapons. Unless you counted ODing on pills. But that didn't usually take affect for at least a couple of hours so…

"Ansel!" I exclaimed, looking at the lanky, and slightly awkward guy with irritation. "What did I tell you about bothering me on my shift?"

"Not to. But that doesn't matter," he smirked, pointing at the clock. "Because your _shift _technically ended 30 seconds ago."

I let out an annoyed sigh, running a hand through my ebony locks. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. My shift already _had _ended. The smug look on his face told me that he knew he was right as well. But as soon as that annoyance came, a sudden realization hit me. My shift had ended. Sudden, pure joy escalated throughout my system. I was _free. _

It wasn't like I hated my job or anything…It was just that it was so, I don't know…stressful? Hectic? _Exhausting? _Yeah, maybe that was it. I was kept on my toes for nearly ten hours every day. At first, it was fun. I got to tend for the wounded, have them appreciate it, etc., etc. But now, the days seemed to blend together as I saw the same repeated incidents nearly every couple of hours.

_Oh no! _Joe forgot to look behind him! He got stabbed in the ribs! He needs immediate surgery! Or, _Shit! _I didn't realize where I was going, and I just stepped onto the metal part of a rake and it impaled my balls! Can I have an ice pack please?

Honestly, for a bunch of Seekers, sometimes we could be a sad bunch. But these were the kind of people you had to deal with when you were a healer like I was.

But fortunately, I didn't have to baby sit anymore of these people today because _my _shift had already ended. Now I could go and relax, maybe shower to get rusty smell of blood off me, or get some coffee to help repel some of the drowsiness that I was feeling. Yeah, a shower and coffee certainly did sound nice…

"NESSA!" I snapped out of my thoughts, staring at Ansel with a dazed expression. Was he talking? Oops, I must've missed that.

"Huh? What?" Yeah…definitely _not _sounding real intelligent at the moment there, if you noticed.

Now it was _Ansel's _turn to sigh. "I said: we're running late. We need to get to the Haldis outpost quick so we can meet Tess there. I promised her that you'd help us sort seeds for spring planting. We badly need some."

I groaned. "_Ansel! _You know how I hate being volunteered without knowing! Why couldn't you ask Bryn to do it? I need some time off after my shift!" Okay, so maybe I was sounding a _little _whiny, but you would be whining to if you had been volunteered for a task that you didn't know about right after seeing enough accidents to last for a life time. Honestly, all I wanted to do right now was to sleep.

Ansel's face immediately grew sullen, and right then and there I knew that I had said the wrong thing. _Crap._ "Bryn's out looking for more Guardians with the rest of them. Besides, I think that she's tired of hanging around just a lowly regular old human like me." The last part he mumbled.

I sighed, resting my hand on his shoulder. He immediately shrugged it off. My face softened. "Hey, you know that's an insult to all us lowly regular old human beings right here, right?" He didn't even bother to dignify my answer with a response. I sighed, making my voice gentle. "Ansel, you can't help what has happened, okay? It wasn't your fault, and there's nothing that you can do to go back and change it. Shit happens, but life goes on. You just need to hop back on the ride and find out what course it'll take you next. Who knows, maybe you'll like it better than—"

"_Don't," _his voice shook with silent hurt and fury. "Don't you _dare _give me that stupid little pep talk."

I frowned, a little miffed by his reaction. _Stupid? _Pfft. Thanks buddy. "Ansel…"

"_STOP IT." _

I pressed my lips together, but let it go, knowing that I'd only make the situation worse by bringing it up again. Ever since the others had found Ansel and brought him here a couple of weeks ago, he had been locked up inside himself with self-hatred, refusing to make contact with the world. I had only learned recently that he used to be a Guardian, and he had lost his wolf after being tortured by the Keepers some time ago. I heard that losing your wolf was like losing a part of yourself, and I could only imagine what sort of hell Ansel had gone through—especially now, since his sister and pack mates were still joined to their whole selves. The amount of emotions he must've been feeling: rage, jealously, hopelessness…it would be able to drive even the strongest person insane. I felt bad for him, I _truly _did, but it wasn't like he could go back and change what had happened. What was done, was done. He needed to move on.

A week or two after his coming, Ansel had come to help volunteer at the infirmary, and I was there to train him. I don't know what was it that made him suddenly come out of his shell, but he seemed a lot more animated when he was with me. When Tess came to pick him up again to leave, he even seemed a little reluctant to go. We became fast friends soon after that.

I had really thought he had gotten over the incident by now. Despite how foolish of an idea that seemed—even war veterans _still _had nightmares from battles that they had fought nearly forty years ago—I couldn't help but hope it would be true. I had selfishly thought that hanging out with me would help him move and forget, that being _human _wasn't a curse that would pop out of your mouth whenever you saw it. I thought I had taught him to _live _again.

But I hadn't. The cold truth was staring at me right in the face. Ansel hadn't moved on at all. In fact, he seemed to be even more sensitive about it.

I bit my lip, letting out another sigh as I worked my features into another gentle smile. "Hey An? What I said earlier…I've changed my mind. I'd _love _to help you and Tessa sort out the spring seeds. In fact, just to make you happy and on time, I'll stay in my work clothes. Sound good?"

He let out a little nod of his head, almost indecipherable if I hadn't been looking at him clearly. A genuine smile appeared on my lips as I looped my arm through his. "Come on, let's go."

I might've not helped Ansel move on, but I sure as hell knew how to make him feel better. Maybe moving on was an idea that I had been hoping to happen too soon. Maybe Ansel had to find true happiness inside himself first before he planned on moving ahead.

But if there was one thing for sure that I knew, I was going to accompany him every step of the way, not leaving his side like his "Guardian friends" had. Someday, he would move on, and then I would _finally _get that relaxing day I had been hoping for.

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**Hey guys! For those of you who had read _I'd Lie, _this is the full story of what is going to happen between Vanessa and Ren. I decided to delete _I'd Lie, _because I** really **hated the way I had written it and everything. But honestly, you haven't missed much if you haven't read it. This has the full story, that was just a song fic. **

**Anyway, I REALLY hope that you like this. I have worked hard on it, and it's around 2 o' clock now, so I should be sleeping. But I chose to write this instead, cause I'm super nice. The next chapter should be up soon...a week at the most, I guess. I know that this chapter is kind of boring...but it'll get better in the next chapter, where Ren will _possibly _enter the story. *wink wink***

**NOTE: This story is inspired by the song _She Will Be Loved_ by Maroon 5. Honestly, it's my favorite song by them, and I think that it kind of fits Vanessa and Ren. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Nightshade series or any of the characters in it. Andrea Cremer does. I merely own Vanessa, a figment of my creative imagination. Trust me, if I did own Ren, I'd do a lot more interesting things to him...if you know what I mean(; **

***awkward cough* But yeah. Expect another chapter soon, yada, yada...**

**I LIKE REVIEWS. SO PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK :)**

**xoNessa**


	2. Chapter 2

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He Will Be Loved

A Renier Laroche Love Story

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"_Life's all about moments of impact, and how they change our lives forever." – _The Vow

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"Tomato, tomato, tomato…"

I turned my head to see Ansel holding a handful of the same kind of seeds and inspecting them one by one. I couldn't help it, I had to say something.

"Hey Ansel, you know that those are all the same kind of seeds, right?" I chuckled, resting my elbows on the granite counter. Tess and I had finished our third of the pile around half an hour ago. Right now, she was grabbing the three of us some coffee.

He held up a finger to shush me. "Shh…I'm just being thorough. What if there was a stray squash seed in there? What if they planted it in the tomato line? That would cause _severe _disorder, Ness."

I let out a great sigh, rolling my eyes. "God forbid!"

Ansel shot me an injured expression, his bottom lip sticking out. "I'm serious."

My gaze softened and I cupped his face in my hands. I hated that how he knew that this expression was my weakness. "I know that. I believe you," I replied. _Except for the fact that I don't. _"And yeah, it's important that none of the seeds get mixed in with the others, but you don't have to double check every single one. Here, why don't you split your seeds with me? We'll get it done together."

He nodded slowly, and I took that as an invitation to take half of his seeds, putting them into the rightly marked boxes. A couple minutes of later, we were faced with four full and separate boxes of sorted seeds.

"Oh good, you finished." I turned around, graciously taking my coffee from Tess and sitting down on one of the sofas in the outpost. _Now _maybe I could relax.

"Yeah, it just took us a couple more minutes."

"Hmm," Tess commented. She gave me a sweet smile. "Thank you so much for coming to help on short notice, Vanessa. I know how grueling the life of a healer must be. I really appreciate that you came to volunteer, directly right after your shift too. I know that most people would rather relax instead."

_Well, I was _about _to do that before Ansel dragged me into this… _I kept the pleasant smile on my face, despite my discouraged thoughts. "Oh it was no problem. I mean, just a onetime thing, right?" I shrugged casually, taking a huge swig from the mug. The coffee was bitter, and it burned my throat on the way down, but I was too tired to care.

"Right," Tess agreed with a smile.

No one said much after that. I would've thought it to be awkward, except for the immense drowsiness I was feeling at the moment. The coffee was piping hot in my stomach, and just what I needed in order to fall asleep—ironic since it was also full of caffeine as well.

"I've never known anyone to fall asleep right after having a huge mug of coffee," I heard Tess chuckle. I could feel her gaze on me. "Is she normally this tired?"

"Pretty much," Ansel muttered. "She's no fun anymore."

Tess clucked her tongue. "Now Ansel, the job of a healer is pretty difficult. The sights they see, the pressure they have to deal with…it's enough to make a person tired when it's all over. Give Vanessa some time to rest, and she'll be back up again in no time."

"I guess…" Ansel mumbled awkwardly. I inwardly smiled at his discomfort. Although I felt a little miffed that he called me _boring_, it was nice to hear him realize how unfair he was being by accusing me. I felt a rush of gratitude for Tess as well, silently thanking her for sticking up for me.

If there was any more conversation past that point, I never heard it. I was far past the point of drowsiness, almost in sleep's clutches. Any minute now and I would be past the point of waking up—for at least a good couple of hours.

My body started to relax, my breaths evening out. I could feel my mind start to wander off into dreamland, the beginnings of a dream forming—

Then a sudden bang ruined everything. I jerked upright, stifling the yelp that was just about to come out of my mouth. A bright light suddenly illuminated in the center of the outpost and I had to shield my eyes in order to keep seeing.

Voices started coming from the light.

"Calla, put Ren through first! He'll die if he stays any longer out here, he's losing too much blood!" a frantic female voice called out. I recognized it to be Adne, Monroe's child. Monroe had died tragically a couple of months ago in the midst of a Guardian attack, leaving Adne as the only one left in her family. I had never met her officially, but Ansel had said she was nice so…

"Hurry! He's losing more blood!" Adne hissed. The light suddenly increased in brightness, and this time I _had _to close my eyes in order to avoid the risk of becoming blind. When I could finally see again, a crowd of eight to ten people had entered the room—the only ones I recognized were Connor and Ethan, only because I treated them a fair number of times.

Nobody noticed me. All of them were clustered around a tall blonde girl who had a charcoal colored wolf in her arms with panicked expressions on their faces.

"Why can't you just feed him Guardian blood?" Conner asked. "Won't that help wolfie get right back up?"

_Feed? _I wrinkled my nose. _Ugh. What were they? Vampires?_

The blonde girl shook her head sadly. "Guardian blood won't be enough. The wounds are fatal enough that the blood will only lessen the damage, not heal it completely. He'll still need to be treated in the infirmary."

_The infirmary. _I knew where that was. I could help take them there. Before I fully realized what I was doing, I said: "I know where it is. I can help you find it."

Nine pairs of eyes flashed over to me, shock registering in every single one. Clearly they hadn't realized that I was here.

I shifted uneasily on my feet. "Really. I'm a healer, I work there. I can help you."

"Really?" It was the blonde that spoke again.

I nodded, then gestured at the unconscious Guardian in her arms. "Yeah. Just feed him the blood, and I'll notify the others. We can start the procedure immediately."

_We? _I blinked. _Crap. _I had just volunteered myself for another task. So much for sleeping.

The blonde nodded, leaning down and setting the wolf down on the floor. I winced as I saw how deep the gashes were on his side, and how much the blood had matted his fur. Blood was still pouring out of his many wounds.

"Can he shift back?" Adne asked, her brow crinkling. "I'm not sure that we have any vets here…"

"I don't know," the blonde murmured. "I'll have to give him my blood first. Maybe he'll have enough strength then." I winced as I saw her sink her teeth into her wrist and placed it into the wolf's mouth. That seemed to wake the wolf up slightly, as he started to lap her blood in less than a second. He let out a whine when he was finished. The blonde looked into his eyes. "Ren? Can you shift back for us? The guardian blood isn't going to cure you. We need to get you to a healer."

The Guardian let out a loud snarl when he heard the word _healer, _but didn't seem to take too much of a threat to shift back. Gradually, his snout shrunk and he started to grow taller. In a matter of seconds, he was human again.

And when I saw him, my jaw dropped.

He was beautiful.

His face was long and angular, all cheekbones and hard angles. His nose was sharp and defined perfectly, almost exactly like an aristocrat's. In contrast, his lips were full and soft—soft enough to inflict arousal just at the slightest touch on your skin. He was tan, but not overly tan. It suited him. He was tall and lean, with just the right amount muscle—not too big, not too small. But the most beautiful feature about him was his eyes: black with silver flecks. Looking at them made me feel like I was seeing the night sky with the stars sprinkled out to keep the darkness away.

"I'm telling you, I'm _fine!_" I snapped out of my thoughts, quickly realizing that I had been staring at him. I hastily averted my eyes, but not before I saw Conner smirk in my direction. Damn it. He saw.

"But _Ren!_" the blonde called out frantically. "You'll die if you won't!" Her voice became soothing. "I know that you don't trust the healers here, or anybody here , in fact. But trust me. Nobody here is intending to hurt you. They just want to make you—"

"CALLA I'M FINE! I DON'T NEED ANY DAMN HEALERS TO—"

"Please?" her voice was barely audible, and I didn't have to guess to realize that she was trying to break down his defenses.

A loud sigh was heard. "Calla, please. Don't do this to me. You know how I—"

The words were out of my mouth before I realized I had spoken them. My tone was gentle, the exact one I used when I had to talk to an upset Ansel. "Ren, please. Listen to Calla. I've seen the severity of your wounds and…unless you have treatment soon, you'll die. Either they'll get infected, or even get worse. You can trust everybody here, we won't hurt you."

Ren's eyes flashed over to me. I gulped, but held my ground. I didn't want to piss him off—that would only make everything else _worse_—, but I definitely wasn't going to let him die just because he had trust issues. His eyes narrowed and I could sense his wolf side close by, ready to attack me. "Who the hell is she?"

"I'm Vanessa Morgan, one of the healers that work at the infirmary," I replied, responding before anybody else could. "I can _help _you." My voice got firmer in the end.

His eyes narrowed further, and his canines flashed in my direction. "I don't trust her."

I lifted my hands up in exasperation. "It's just a simple procedure! Most of your cuts require stitches so they can heal properly. It'll take an hour or two at the most!"

"Ren, you should go," Calla murmured, resting a hand on his shoulder. He winced, and her hand immediately fell away. "Sorry."

"I don't want to let you die," I whispered. To human ears, it was nearly impossible to hear, but the Guardians had better hearing then we did. Ren's face snapped up to face mine again, and shock radiated from his system. By then, I knew that he had heard my words.

"Please," Calla pleaded again.

Ren sighed, his lips pressing together to form a thin line. He gave a stiff nod, but glared in my direction. "_Fine. _But if I sense any sort of threat in there, I won't even think twice about slaughtering you all." His voice held a trace of malice.

A shiver went down my spine as I heard the threat behind his words. There was no doubt in my mind that he meant every single one that he said. He wouldn't be afraid to kill me if I did something wrong.

A small smile appeared on my face. I was basically on a suicide mission. The thought seemed to whisk all of my tiredness away, leaving pure adrenaline to pump through my veins. "Alright. Let's get going then." I turned around, only to be yanked back my hair. I stifled a cry, but it hurt like a bitch. Ren's voice by my ear chilled me to the core. "I'm warning you, _bitch_. One mistake, you're dead." He pushed me ahead, and I stumbled forward, clutching my chest.

He had been the one that had grabbed me.

Silence cloaked the room like a heavy blanket, and I sneaked a glance back to realize that the rest of the group was staring at Ren with wide eyes. Fear chilled me to the core as I realized how dangerous he was.

This operation suddenly seemed a thousand time more serious than before.

* * *

**Eughh, I feel like this chapter was horrible. I had to rewrite it a couple of times because I hated it so much :P **

**But yeah. So...Ren? He sure seems to hate Vanessa haha. Poor Vanessa. I feel like I made Ren's character too cruel, but meh. He'll probs change in a bit xD**

**Okay. I have a question. Has anybody ever heard of the book called _Angelfire? _Ohmygod. That's like my favorite book in the whole entire world...3 And Will? God, he's gorgeous. Except he makes me so mad, because he's all like: "I have to do my duty, I can't love you!" and I'm like: *face palm* My friend and I had a discussion yesterday about why I like fantasy so much...andddd I guess it's because everyone is more interesting, and normal life is well...boring. Haha. I'd love a demon-slaying shadowhunter boyfriend, or even an Angel boyfriend. Plus, they're usually protective and gorgeous...IDK, I like those kind of guys? Haha. Ew, that makes me sound all damsel-in-distress like. Gross. **

**But yeahhhhh. I'm done with my character ranting...ish. I won't bore you further.**

**I'm sorry if the chapter sucked eggs. I tried to make it okay D: **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Nightshade, or even any of the characters D: Shame, cause Ansel & Ren & Connor are my favorites haha. And you know how I feel about Ren (; I just own Vanessa. **


	3. Chapter 3

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He Will Be Loved 

A Renier Laroche Love Story

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_ I don't hate you...but if I had a glass of water and you were on fire, I'd drink it. – _Unknown

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"Would you just hold _still_?" I snapped, trying to realign my stiches. They were all crooked and unkempt due to my patient's _irritable _behavior. "You're making this _way _harder than this needs to be."

"I would hold still if you would get this done faster!" Ren hissed between his teeth. "That goddamn anesthesia is wearing off."

"Aw, can the wittle Guardian not take the pain of tiny wittle stiches?" I cooed, finishing up on his third cut. Now I just had five more to do. "Clifford! Get me another syringe, would you?"

"_Actually,_ I'm fine without the anesthesia, thank you very much," Ren snapped, narrowing his eyes into slits. I smirked at his face, putting my hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright. But then I guess you won't mind me doing… this?" I smirked, plunging the needle into his skin a little bit more force than I needed to. Not enough to do any serious damage—unfortunately—but still enough to…

Ren let out another hiss, a low growl escaping from his mouth as well. He glared at me with his beautiful obsidian eyes. "_Fuck you._"

I snorted. "Ha. You wish."

That certainly left him gaping with his mouth open. I eyed it with a raised eyebrow, gesturing my hands toward it. "Careful. Don't want to catch any bugs in there, now would you? I, for one, am not going to pump your stomach if that happens."

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't make any responding retort to me. I smirked again in satisfaction, finishing up the next cut, this time with perfectly aligned stiches.

It had definitely been a struggle bringing him here. At first, Ren wouldn't let me anywhere close by him with a needle, but after a little bit of wheedling from Calla, he grudgingly let me start to sew his body back together. Unfortunately, though, he wouldn't go down without a fight. The Guardian pack had left him with me to be fixed, and he decided that since we were alone, he might as well make my life a living hell. It was like he was a fussy two-year-old, whining anytime I came close to him with a new, foreign object.

"Are you done yet?" he grumbled. "You said that this would only take one or two hours. I have other things to do than just sit around while a stupid healer just sews me up for wounds that I could've just handled by myself."

I narrowed my eyes at him, using a pair of scissors to cut the thread. Only two more left to do, thank god. He thought that he was the only one that wanted to get out of here? Nope, he was definitely wrong on that count. "Well those other things are going to have to wait for a week or two, because that's how long you're going to take to—"

"Two _weeks_?" His tone was incredulous. "I'm a _Guardian, _not some lowly human Seeker like you! I'll be healed by the end of the day." As if on cue, he flexed his right arm, trying to feign complete and utter comfort. Hmph. I saw right through his façade.

"Do you think I'm an _idiot_?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. Surprise flitted across his face. "You'll be healed by the end of the day, my ass. If you don't get at least a couple of days of rest, then the stitches will yank apart, and we'll have to repeat this whole entire process again!" I didn't know about him, but I wasn't about to redo all those stitches, just because he couldn't lie down for a couple of days.

"I'm _fine,_" he insisted once again.

I rolled my eyes, fed up with his constant denial. "Next time you say that, I'll make sure to stich your mouth shut," I threatened, holding the needle dangerously close to his lips for emphasis. "For God's sake, give it a rest!"

He glared at my hand. "You wouldn't dare."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you _really _want to try a girl that has a needle in her hand?" I got no response back from him. "Yeah, I wouldn't either."

For the rest of the time Ren didn't speak. Apart from the usual noises of the infirmary, everything was quiet. I wasn't sure if my needle threat actually had taken an effect on him, or he was just tired of us pointlessly arguing as much as I was. It was probably the latter. As much as I wished that it were true, I knew for a fact that Ren wasn't scared of me.

But whether it was true for me as well…I wasn't so sure about. As hard as I tried to forget, I couldn't get rid of the look of hate on his face as he talked to me. He called me a bitch. To be honest, that _hurt. _Not that I'd ever admit it to him of course. Why should I admit weakness to someone as unmerciful as him? It's not like he would apologize or anything…

"Hey doc, _you done_?" I snapped out of my reverie, looking at him with a confused expression. His expectant expression made my face heat up. Right. I was supposed to be stitching him back up. I gave him a quick once over, only to realize that I had indeed finished up. Great. Now he could go, and I could finally take that long, deserving shower I promised myself.

"Y-yeah, I'm done," I replied, stepping back away from him. I cursed myself as I realized that I had stammered—moment of weakness shown. "Just make sure that to get plenty of rest and for God's sake, _be careful! _I'd like it if I didn't have to see your face _ever _again."

"Ouch doc, that hurt. Right in the heart." He made a great show of clutching his heart and staggering back dramatically. I, however, just rolled my eyes.

"Yeah….about that. Are you sure you _have _one? Killing off innocent people, obeying your masters like dogs? Oh, wait. That's right. You practically _are _one." As soon as those words left my mouth, I started to wonder if I had maybe taken that a little _too _far than I had intended.

Ren was at me in a flash. Before I even had the chance to breathe, he had me pinned to the wall by my neck, his strength surprisingly huge for someone who had nearly bled to death just a couple of hours before.

"Do you know me?" He asked, his voice dangerously low.

I didn't respond—not that I could've anyway. His hand restricted my air supply heavily. If I didn't get any air in the next 30 seconds, I would lose consciousness.

Apparently not responding seemed to be a bad idea, because his hand tightened further on my neck, making spots dance across my vision. Clearly this wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"I _said: DO YOU KNOW ME?!_" he roared out, driving his left hand into the wall right beside my head. I jumped, the sound of crashing items falling to the floor.

I tried opening my mouth to call for help, but nothing came out. How had none of the other healers noticed anything yet? Were they all blind or deaf or something? Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed every single one of them working normally. A flash of despair went through me—they _hadn't _noticed anything.

And then I realized how close Ren was to me. His body was pressed up against mine, his breath fanning my face. He was so close that I could see the individual flecks of silver stand out in his eyes like stars. For a moment, I got lost in those eyes—in the sheer beauty that they possessed.

_Kiss me… _

Oh how badly I wanted to kiss him right then…

A dull pain in my thought made me snap out of my thoughts and focus on the more important task at hand. How could I think about _kissing _him when he was about to kill me? Cleary I must've had a death wish or something…

I realized that Ren definitely wasn't going to let me go until I gave him some sort of response, so mustering up whatever feeble strength I had left, I slowly shook my head no.

"Then you have no right to judge me," he whispered harshly, letting me go. I fell to the floor, taking deep breaths and trying to ignore the pains in my neck. "Next time, don't forget that or I will personally come and make sure that those are the last words you will ever say. Got it?"

I gave another weak nod.

"Good." A more pleasant tone now entered his voice. "Thanks for fixing me up, doc. I _really _appreciated," he all but sneered before leaving. I watched him go, wishing that he could magically disappear into the fiery pits of hell. Unfortunately, God wasn't on my side, because he walked away without succumbing down into any sorts of flames what so ever.

"Dr. Morgan I have some paperwork for you to fill out regarding another patient and I—Oh my god, are you okay?!"

Great. After the worst happen, they decide to show up on their sorry asses and give a flying shit.

"Yeah," I croaked out, "I just fell."

"And put a hole in the wall? Jesus, is your head alright?" Clifford asked me, helping me up on my feet. I nodded, wincing as I remembered how quickly Ren had thrown me against the wall. Damn, was he fast…or maybe I was just exceptionally slow…? I frowned.

"Well, I think that you should get an X-ray just to make sure but—holy shit…" I stared at him in shock. Clifford _never _swore. He was one of those guys that always said _fudge! _Or _shucks! _And _Gosh Darnit! _Instead of the regular curse words. What made him change his mind? "_What happened to your neck?_"

Oh. That explained it.

I tried to wave it off, pretend like nothing had happened. "Ohhh…nothing. I accidentally burned myself while fixing my hair this morning."

Clifford gave me a weird look. "It wasn't there this morning. And your hair isn't straightened or curled."

I gave him a nonchalant shrug. "Maybe you didn't notice it this morning."

"But I could've sworn— "

"_No, _okay?" I interrupted. "Just leave it."

"But—"

"LEAVE IT!" I yelled at him.

He shrunk back for a few moments but then bounced forward just as quickly. "_No! _I'm not going to leave it when it looks like you've bruised your neck!"

I froze. _What? _That bastard _bruised _me?

"Are you going to tell me what really happened or no?" Clifford asked me quietly, appraising me with gentle eyes. "I'm asking you this as your friend, Ness. Did something happen? Who did this to you?"

I guess nonchalance was off limits now, huh? I pressed my lips together, taking in a breath. My throat hurt like hell, much to the point that I almost felt like passing out. I was going to _kill _Ren. "I just…I just said something I shouldn't have said, that's all. And…he got mad."

"Who?" Confusion was evident on Clifford's face. "There was no one here with you except for…" Realization dawned in his eyes. "Your patient. That _Guardian._" They narrowed into slits, and his hands curled into fists. "That _bastard! _He did this to you! I'm going to fucking murder him!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, grabbing his arm and dragging him back. "Where are you going?"

Clifford was still pissed. "I'm going to _kill _him for hurting you," he hissed.

If the situation weren't so serious, I seriously would have laughed. Clifford was as frightening as a little baby penguin. "What? Are you _crazy? _Do you have a death wish or something?"

Astonishment appeared on his face. "You want me to let this go?!"

I gave him a look. "Clifford, calm down and look at the facts. If Ren did this to me…he can no doubt down the same thing to you too. He's strong, Clifford. _Really _strong. And you don't have any battle training. You'll be the one getting killed."

He huffed. "Nice to know that you have confidence in me."

I gave him a small smile. "I do have confidence in you, Clifford. In your _healing _abilities. You're a great assistant. You help me save people's lives. What would I ever do if you weren't there, huh?"

His shoulders began to sag as he realized the meaning of my words. "Yeah, I guess. But how can you let this go so easily? He _seriously _hurt you, Ness. Those bruises are anything but pretty, and I'm sure that you might even have a concussion! Are you going to let him get away with that so easily?"

I shook my head, giving Clifford a wry smile. "Are you crazy? Of _course _not. You might not be able to be the one to get him, but I definitely know a couple of guys that wouldn't mind teaching that Guardian a lesson. He won't know what hit him." They were the best on our side; surely they could leave Ren with a few bruises and scratches of his own.

"Who are you going to call?"

I grinned, giving him a small shrug. "I heard that Connor and Ethan were in the mood to kill a couple of mutts this morning. Maybe it's not too late to grant them their wish."

_Revenge could never be sweeter._

* * *

__**Ooooh that was dramatic!(; Is Ren too much of an asshole in this...or is that just me? Haha.**

**ANYWAYS. AYEEE!(; **

**I'm back from the dead with a new chapter of this. First of all, this was long overdue. Like...I'm not even kidding. I had half of this typed up like a month ago, got writer's block, and finally finished it at like 2 AM yesterday. I have insomnia...I don't usually sleep till four. **

**But yeah. Hopefully this wasn't too bad :/ I mean...hopefully it'll make up for not being there? IDK. **

**I have half of the other chapter written...I'm not sure when I'll post it. Hopefully it'll be sooner than this one was...but then again, summer's almost over and school's about to start. **

**HIGH school's about to start for me. YOU GUYS. I'M IN HIGH SCHOOL :D LIKE...FINALLY. #FRESHMEAT**

**WISH ME LUCK!**

**On the next chapter and high school. **

**ANDDDDD...**

**I got nothing..**

**TOODLES.**


	4. Chapter 4

~.~

He Will Be Loved

A Renier Laroche Love Story

~.~

"_I hope your fire, fire burns baby." _– Nicki Minaj

~.~

"So he just grabbed you and shoved you up against the wall?" Ansel asked me, his eyes wide. We were at the Haldis outpost again, hanging out and drinking some coffee. Clifford had convinced the head healer to give me a couple of days off, saying that "she is as tired as hell," and, "needs some serious time to recuperate." I was thankful that he hadn't mentioned anything about Ren—I didn't want everyone to know how humiliated I felt about it.

"Yeah," I mumbled, looking down and taking a swig from my cup. The hot beverage burned on the way down, making me wince as I swallowed. The sharp pain in my throat started up again and I shivered as I remembered how strong Ren's grip on it was. Yet my stomach started to tighten when I remembered how close he was to me.

I quickly shoved that thought aside. Now was totally _not _the time to be thinking about what petty feelings I had about him. Surely, he didn't return them, considering the fact that he almost tried to kill me less than 24 hours ago.

"Did he hurt you?" Concern now laced his tone.

I pressed my lips together, debating on whether or not to show Ansel my neck injuries. I was never one to express vulnerability, and I certainly didn't want Ansel to see how breakable I actually was. It was humiliating.

But then again, Ansel was my friend. If I lied to him…he would be hurt beyond belief. Besides, it wasn't as if I was showing him anything bad—just what Ren did to me. And who knows, maybe Ansel could help convince Connor and Ethan to help me get back at him.

With a sigh, I pulled down the collar of my turtleneck, letting Ansel inspect the damage. Clifford had given me some medicine to take away the pain, but it wasn't very helpful. And on top of that, he told me to wear turtlenecks in order to conceal them. I _hated _turtlenecks. This was one more reason why I needed to take Ren down.

I heard a loud gasp, and then felt something hot drip down the front of my shirt. I looked up to see that Ansel had knocked over both of our coffee cups, and now my white turtleneck had huge coffee stains on the front of it.

"ANSEL!" I yelled, lifting the damp fabric away from my skin. _Great. _

"Ren did this to you?" he whispered, using his fingers to gently probe my throat. I winced as he accidentally pushed too hard on a couple of the bruises.

"Yeah," I replied, gauging his reaction. I needed to make sure that he didn't go ballistic or something.

His hands curled into fists and his shoulders grew stiff with rage. "I'm going to kill him," he snarled.

I glanced at him worriedly. "Are you sure you can? Ren's really strong…"

He gave me a hurt glance. "What? You don't think that I can? Just because I'm not a Guardian anymore I can't go and beat up another—"

"No Ansel," I murmured, getting up and clutching his hands. He relaxed somewhat. "I just don't want you to go and make a foolish mistake. What would I do if you got hurt or something?" My mind briefly flashed to how I had consoled Clifford the same way. Those two were more alike than they knew.

Ansel's shoulders sagged. "Oh."

"Yeah," I replied, giving his hands a gentle squeeze. "I do want to get back at Ren, but I don't want you to get yourself hurt. I couldn't live with myself if you did."

"Oh," he just mumbled again.

I sighed, bringing him closer and kissing his cheek. "Have you seen Connor or Ethan around recently?" _Maybe Ansel couldn't bring Ren down, but surely Connor and Ethan could. _

"Yeah, they said that they were going to go to the Battle room to work out," Ansel replied, giving me a strange look. "Why?"

I gave him a nonchalant shrug. "No reason…but thanks. Try not to get into any trouble, okay?"

He sighed, staring back down at his coffee again. "Okay…"

I smiled at him once more before heading towards the Battle room. I could hear the sounds of people hitting each other before I even got within twenty feet of the place. I sighed, shaking my head. No doubt I'd be treating at least half of these people within the next couple of hours.

Pulling apart the double doors, I headed inside, scanning the room for Connor and Ethan. I found them within the first minute; they were sparring each other with blades.

"CONNOR, ETHAN!" I called out. "I NEED YOU GUYS TO DO ME A FAVOR!"

Ethan glanced up at me with a confused look, unable to deflect the jab that Connor sent his way. With a gasp, he flew back and hit the ground hard, a ground escaping from his mouth. Connor casually stepped around him, looking at me with a grin.

"What up, doc?"

I rolled my eyes. "Hi Bugs Bunny. Do you mind telling Connor that I'd like to speak with him?"

"Alright, doc…" Connor did a 360 degree turn and grinned at me. "Hey Nessa. You called?"

I gave him a smile. "I need you to do something for me."

He instantly grew wary. "What kind of something?"

My grin grew bigger. "_Revenge _type of something. I need you to get back at Ren for me."

Connor's eyes twinkled as he leaned in closer. "Really? I'm all ears."

I beckoned him closer and started whispering in his ear, telling him my plan. No, it wasn't dangerous, or even that bad, but it was sure to make Ren the laughing stock for the next couple of months.

"Both of you are so immature!" Ethan grumbled as soon as we told him. I had gotten a lecture of not interrupting two people who were sparring as soon as he had recovered from Connor's blow. I had pretended to be _very _interested in what he was saying, when in reality I didn't give a crap. "He's going to see right through the both of you."

I shrugged. "Good. I want him to know that it _was _me. There's a reason why it's called payback, Ethan."

"It's not going to be payback when he skins you alive."

_Ouch…hadn't thought of that. No, Nessa…think positive. Think of his reaction when he finds out what you did. _My mouth curled into a wry smile. "I'll be laughing all the while."

He gave me a weird look, but I had already turned away, my mind dancing with joy once I realized the amount of satisfaction that I would receive by the time that this was over.

_Fuck you, Ren,_ I thought, heading back to the outpost. _You've had this coming to you._

~.~

Unfortunately, vacation time couldn't last forever. Within the next day, I was back at the infirmary, running around like a headless chicken and treating patient after patient after patient. The work kept me so busy that I had nearly forgotten about what was supposed to happen. _Almost._

The door to the infirmary slammed open as Connor ran in, a whole bundle of clothes in his hands and a panicked look on his face. I raised my eyebrows, taking in his appearance. "How'd it go?"

He shoved the whole bundle into my arms, almost knocking me off balance. A pang of worry flashed through me. Had something gone wrong? "He's going to kill us all!" Connor yelled.

I started to laugh. "Yeah right, Connor. Look, if you're trying to worry me it's not working. Go save yourself the effort."

Connor's eyes bugged open. "I'm not kidding, Nessa!" he yelled, shooting me a frantic look. "Look, you're on your own for this one! I want no part of this anymore!" With one more agitated look, he ran out of the infirmary, leaving me there to gape at him speechlessly.

Um…alright. What the hell was that all about?

I shrugged, setting the clothes down and turning back to my work.

Then, for the second time that day, the door burst open, revealing a snarling black wolf in it's wake. I stared at it impassively, not impressed by it's presence.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest. "Cause honestly…not working."

The wolf snarled loudly, it's hackles rising. A twinge of nervousness entered in my stomach but I ignored it, refusing to let Ren intimidate me. I was supposed to get back at him, make him the laughing stock for the next few months. I would _not _put this plan in jeopardy.

"Besides, why are you in wolf form anyway? What's wrong with being human? Too afraid to fight like a man?" I challenged.

"No, I just didn't want to cause any swooning," his smooth voice answered. My eyes bugged out of my head as I realized that he had shifted back and revealed his body…_all of his body…_to my very eyes. Oh. My. God.

"But it seems like I've been unsuccessful," he finished, giving me an amused look. I felt my face grow hot as I hastily looked away from his sculpted body.

"Go put a shirt on or something!" I snapped, trying very hard to not let my eyes wander in his direction again.

"Can't," his voice sounded again, laced with amusement. "It seems like you have all of my clothes."

_Dammit. Walked right into that one, _I grumbled. I took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. How was I going to get rid of him?

"—Which by the way is such a weird thing to do. Why steal them in the first place when you could've just asked me to flash you."

"_What?_" I exclaimed, snapping back to attention.

Ren shrugged. "We all know how much you want me, babe."

I laughed, trying hard to stop and failing miserably. "Yeah, _babe,_ you're totally right!"

Ren looked at me in confusion. "What?"

I dropped the clipboard I was taking notes on and sauntered over to him, using every single ounce of my willpower to keep on looking at his face. Ren stiffened when I got close to him, wondering what I was about to do.

"Ohhh Ren, how did you know about my little crush?" I asked him, biting down on my lip seductively. Satisfaction rose within me as I saw his eyes wander to my lips. "I was trying so hard to keep it a secret."

"You're very easy to read," he muttered, glaring at me suspiciously.

I stiffened a little bit in surprise. _I was? _Ren took this as the perfect opportunity to step in, cupping my cheek with his hand.

Electricity coursed through my veins and I gasped at the sudden pull of attraction that I felt. Ren moved closer and my stomach tightened at the thought of his exposed body pressed against mine. Would he really go that far…?

"I know exactly what you're thinking," he breathed, staring into my eyes. The silver flecks in his glinted brightly and I swallowed nervously, trying to keep myself from falling apart in his arms. I had to remember my goal here.

"R-really? A-and what's t-that?" I demanded. _DAMMIT! Where the hell is this stutter coming from?!_

I can't tell you how much I wanted to smack myself right there and then.

"You want to kiss me," he breathed, using his other arm to stroke down my body. I bit my lip against the moan that was about to escape, my breathing becoming short and shallow. Ren came closer still and soon I felt the hard panes of his body press into me. He cocked his head to the side, his lips coming closer and closer, so close that I could feel his minty breath fan my face when…

My knee jerked up and I kneed him directly in the balls.

He crumpled to the floor immediately, launching colorful cuss words under his breath.

I grabbed his clothes off the chair and flung them at him, covering the indecent parts of his body before grabbing my clipboard and heading in to see another patient.

"I won't ask you again, Ren," I said, shooting him a smirk. "Go put a shirt on."

_Nessa - 1, Ren - 1_.

* * *

**Yayyy! I finally uploaded this! Truthfully, I had half of this written out, and finished the rest of it today. Sorry I haven't been updating often...I haven't really been in the mood to write anything and school has kept me busy too. **

**High school is such an interesting place.**

**Taking all honors and French 3 as a freshman is quite difficult .**

**I have at least 3 tests every single week D:**

** I don't know when I'll upload again..probably when I have enough inspiration, which is not often.. **

**But I guess until then, I hope that you guys liked this chapter((:**

**Review, por favor?**

**Thaaaaanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

~.~

He Will Be Loved

A Renier Laroche Love Story

~.~

"_All my life I've been good but now, I'm thinking 'what the hell'?" – Avril Lavigne_

~.~

The next few days passed without notice. Ren avoided me studiously, whether it was because he was humiliated or just wanted to protect his ball- I had no idea. It gave me satisfaction to see how uncomfortable he was; maybe he would be able to respect me for a change. Either way, I wasn't complaining…it was nice to be able to walk the halls in peace.

Unfortunately, in a week's time, I had to have him come in in order to remove his stitches. He was my last patient for the day, and he was already running late—probably doing it on purpose just to aggravate me. _Bastard_. I groaned, just from looking at the clock.

"Maybe you should head out," Clifford suggested, looking at me with an amused expression. "I'll take care of it for you, Dr. Morgan."

I waved his offer away. "Nah. Thanks for the offer though, Clifford. You know I wouldn't miss out on a chance to get on his nerves."

"Yeah, well, he seems to be the one to be doing the most damage, if you don't mind me saying, doctor," Clifford said, hiding a smile. I glowered at him, my impatience renewing with double the force. With one more look at the clock, I realized that I had definitely had it.

"UGH, where is that son-of-a-bitch!" I growled, stalking to the entrance. I tore my coat off; heels clicking as I angrily stomped away. "Stich removal be damned, I'm _done_." The second I said that, I ran into a hard chest.

"Am I a little late? Oops, my bad," a smooth voice stated, not sounding sorry whatsoever. "I hope that you can get these stitches out quickly though, I have better things to do than to be here."

I took a step back, glaring at the gorgeous man in front of me. Was it me, or did he look more attractive than the last time I had seen him? Realizing that I had been fantasizing about him, I quickly shook my head to eliminate the thought. _Dammit, I have to stop thinking about him like that! _I was supposed to hate him, not want to kiss him every single waking moment of my life.

Maybe a bath in holy water would help me cleanse myself of these thoughts.

"Really?" I shot back. "I wasn't aware that you were needed."

"Oh, I'm _very _needed," he gloated, flexing his biceps. "Unlike you, I have these babies of steel."

"Ha!" I laughed. "When you save hundreds of lives, give me a call."

"I do save lives," he argued. "I protect people from the likes of getting to know _you_. No wonder you have no friends besides Ansel—and even he doesn't think that highly of you."

I glowered at him, heading over to a lab drawer and fishing out a pair of scissors. No, I wasn't going to cut him… (yet) but that was the way to get out his stitches. "Really? You're not a charmer either, you know. I'm surprised that no one has called Animal Control on your ass yet."

His eyes narrowed and right then I instantly knew that I had struck a nerve. "Bitch."

I rolled my eyes-he had called me that so many times that it rarely bothered me anymore. "Asshole." He opened his mouth to retaliate, but I quickly cut him off, opening and closing the scissors rapidly. "Do you want these stitches off or no? Didn't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Right," he responded immediately, getting down to business. He sat on the edge of one of the cots, arms out and ready. "Hurry up, doc."

I rolled my eyes, snipping them off as fast as I could. God knows that I didn't want to be with him any longer than I had to, no matter how good looking he was. After I finished his arms, I raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Is that it?"

"Mmmm not quite," he grinned, mischief twinkling in his eyes. "But I don't know if you should do the rest, I don't want you to faint."

"Yeah, and I don't trust you with these scissors," I grumbled. "Just show me the goddamn stitches and we can leave."

He rolled his eyes, _tsk_ing. "Feisty, feisty."

"Yeah, and you _love _it," I declared, surprising the two of us. Ren gave me a weird look and I felt my face go hot. Where did that come from?

"Ok…?" He reached down to grab the ends of his shirt, pulling it quickly off his torso to reveal the toned muscle underneath. Hoooooly shit. Ren, seeing my face, smirked. "Why doc, is that drool I see?" I stared at him, eyes wide, as he stroked his thumb across my bottom lips, pretending to catch the invisible drool. He pretended to inspect it, and then winked at me. I almost collapsed onto the floor.

"Like what you see?"

I closed my mouth, giving him a scowl. "No thank you. I don't cross breed."

"Haha," he replied sarcastically. "Are you ever going to stop the dog jokes?"

"Not until you stop acting like a mutt," I said, giving him a sweet smile. "So, uhm, never?"

Ren rolled his eyes, turning his head away and saying something that sounded like "_fuck_" under his breath. I chuckled, causing his eyes to snap back at me.

"Well damn, if you really wanted to go so badly, the bathrooms are just around the corner," I stated casually, trying hard not to react to the way his muscles swelled when he breathed. I cut off another stitch, ducking my head to avoid his gaze.

"What did you just say?" he asked incredulously.

"I said: since you want me so badly, why don't you just head over to the bathrooms? I'm sure there's adequate privacy in there."

"Uhmmm, alright," he stated, trying to keep a neutral expression. "Let's go."

Surprise flitted across my features. _Wait…what_? "What?"

Ren laughed at my expression. "Ha! Your reaction is priceless." He smirked at me, amusement plain on his face. "I knew you wanted me."

"_Excuse me?_" I gaped, heating rushing to my cheeks. _How…__**dare**__ he! _"I do _not _want you! And anyone who does must be a brainless Barbie doll!"

"Ouch, that hurts," he gasped, clutching his chest dramatically. "Don't look now doc, but you might cause me a heart attack!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh shut up."

Ren grabbed my face, looking deep into my eyes. I slowly felt my legs turn into Jell-O. Like I had said before, his eyes were the most beautiful part of him. Just looking into them made me feel like mush. _Well shit, looks like I'm staring at him again. SNAP OUT OF IT! _I tried screaming at myself, but it was no use.

"Hey doc?" he breathed.

A knot formed in my stomach; a lump in my throat. "Yes…?"

"I need to tell you something…"

"Yes?" I repeated, anxiety creeping into my stomach.

Ren looked at me seriously, sliding his thumb across my bottom lips again. "I just want to let you know that—"

"God, just spit it out already!" I cried through clenched teeth. He was driving me crazy!

Ren chuckled. "Okay, okay!" His voice dropped down to a whisper. He lowered his head, cocking it to the side and sliding his lips close to my ear. "I just want to let you know that…" I held my breath, my heart going into overdrive. "It's not your fault that you find me attractive. I get it. I'm an attractive guy. I'm flattered that you find me irresistible."

I just stared at him. And to think that he couldn't get _any _cockier! "Are you _asking _for another kick to the balls or something?" I demanded in disbelief. "Dick move, right there!"

Ren chuckled. "Oh doc, you are so obvious."

I glared at him. "Get the fuck out."

"Oh really? You sure that you don't want a go in the bathroom?" he chuckled, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I bit my lip, knowing that he wasn't going to leave without a fight. I dropped the scissors on a nearby cot, walking over to him and wrapping my arms around his neck. He stiffened in surprise, but then relaxed a few moments later under my hold. I leaned in close to him, putting my eyes at half-mast and _hoping _that I didn't look like an idiot while in this position.

"Actually," I murmured, putting on a coy smile. "The bathroom is too far away…I like this place _much _better."

"Do you?" he chuckled. Was it me or did I detect a hint of nervousness in his tone?

"Definitely," I purred, running my hands down his shoulders. His muscles flexed under my hands and I tried my very best not to be affected by their supple structure. He was heaven to touch—but I couldn't let him know that.

"Well…uh…me too, doc…" he breathed, tensing a little bit. I cocked my head to the side, looking at him innocently.

"Am I making you nervous, Ren?" I giggled, raising an eyebrow at him.

"_What_? Of course not!" he growled, struggling against my hold. I stroked his arms, trying to get him to calm down.

"Really? You seem a little…agitated," I whispered, reaching a hand up to cup his face. To be honest, being in power like this felt thrilling. Now I understood the pleasure that people often got when they had people wanting them; begging them to do something. I wanted Ren to _beg_. I wanted him to collapse into a hot mess on the floor while I destroyed him.

Unfortunately, it seemed like my reign was due to end way too soon. In the moment that I had gotten lost in my own thoughts, Ren had flipped us over—now he had the upper ground as he boxed me in against the cot.

_Well damn. _

I stared at him with wide eyes, feeling my resolve weaken exponentially with every passing second. His eyes bored into mine, an easy smirk playing around the edges of his lips. The expression on his face suggested that he knew that he was back in control. He was the predator; and I was back to being the prey.

Knowing that I was nearing closer and closer to a sticky situation, I did the one thing that I could do.

"Uhh, hi!" I chirped.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you doc?" he whispered, looking at me triumphantly.

I rolled my eyes and huffed, crossing my arms across my chest. "Whatever."

"You should take this as a lesson," he continued, ignoring what I said. "that you're never going to win against me."

I stared at him in surprise, trying to figure out where this conversation was leading. "Now wait right there—"

"Guardians will always be better than Searchers—" Oh hell no.

"_Excuse me_?!" I shrieked. Seriously, what the _fuck _was he thinking by going on about this? Did he not realize that his precious Keepers were the enemy here? That we were only trying to help the people on his side? That in reality, they were all just an _abomination _of nature? _Unbelievable. _

"No no no, just listen to me, doc," he said impatiently. "It's only natural of course. It's what's been in place in nature from the start—from the beginning of time."

"For your information—" he cut me off quickly by placing his index finger tight against my lips. I considered biting it—there was _no _way I was going to be dealing with level of disrespect.

"Shhh. I'm only going to say this one more time: Guardians will _always _be better than Searchers. I know it's hard for you believe, since you are one of _them_, but the sooner you accept it, the happier you'll be. Trust me on this one, doc. It's always been that way." His lips moved to my ear, and it was silent for a minute till he uttered one final word to prove his point.

"_Always._"

* * *

**HELLO!**

**Wow, it's been like 10 months since I updated this story lol. Well, that goes to show how difficult high school is *sigh***

**Geometry Honors this year. KILLER. It brought down my whole GPA with that _stupid _C for second semester. Oh well. Goodbye High Honors! *sob* **

**ANYWAY, I feel like this chapter got a little sketchy towards the end here. Uhmmm sorry if it sucked ass, but I've got to say, getting back into the writing flow after all this time is difficult!**

**So, I did the best I could under the circumstances. (This chapter probably wouldn't have happened at all if I didn't get all the amazing reviews. *EEEP* thanks babes!)**

**I definitely feel like my writing style has changed from the past...10 months lol. As I was writing this, I realized that I made Ren sound like the guy that I like at the moment. And then I got to thinking: do we write about the ones we love? Like, does their personality come out through our writing? If we make a character, does their essence shine out of it?**

**Maybe. Just maybe. Maybe I'm in love with him?**

**Okkaaaay. **

**I hope that you guys liked this chapter! (Even if the ending was a little...eh) I know that the story is seeming to deviate from it's original plot a little bit BUT don't worry, I've got it covered! (I hope).**

**I would love you FOREVER if you guys would** **_REVIEW!_**

**__****Seriously, it's what keeps me going!**

**AND**

**AND AND AND AND**

**I'd love it if you could answer my question about whether or not we write about the ones we love (or are in love with) cause I'm trying to figure out if I could be in love with him. **

**Thank ya babes **

**Hopefully the next chapter will drop in sooner than this one did lol. **


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